Xanthohumol, a hop flavonoid, exhibits a broad range of bioactivities. For example, it is an anti-oxidant and is useful for treating diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer. In another example, xanthohumol ameliorates diabetes and dyslipidaemia.
Current xanthohumol-containing products have at least two disadvantages. First, the bioavailability of xanthohumol in these products is very poor due to its low water-solubility. Second, xanthohumol products often contain a substantial amount of isoxanthohumol, which results from the breakdown of xanthohumol during preparation or storage of xanthohumol-containing products. The presence of isoxanthohumol is disadvantageous because it possesses undesirable estrogenic activity.
Thus, there is a need to develop a new product that contains highly bioavailable xanthohumol and little or no isoxanthohumol.